Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador

Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador (13 November 1953-) was the Head of Government of Mexico City from 5 December 2000 to 29 July 2005, succeeding Rosario Robles and preceding Alejandro Encinas Rodriguez; he was also the leader of the Party of the Democratic Revolution from 1996 to 1999. In 2006, he achieved second place in the presidential election.

Biography
Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador was born in Tepetitan, Tabasco, Mexico on 13 November 1953, and he joined the Institutional Revolutionary Party in 1976 to support Carlos Pellicer's campaign for a senate seat for Tabasco. In 1984, he started working for the National Consumers' Institute, a government agency in Mexico City, and he rose to become President of the PRI in his home state of Tabasco. However, he resigned in 1988 to join the dissenting left wing of the party in forming the new Party of the Democratic Revolution. In 1994, he lost the Tabasco gubernatorial election to PRI candidate Roberto Madrazo, who spent excessive amounts of money on political propaganda. However, in 2000, he was elected Head of Government of Mexico City, effectively serving as mayor of the nation's capital. He had an 84% approval rating and fulfilled 80% of his promises while he was in office; he decreased traffic congestion, provided tax incentives for construction companies, built condominiums in the city, and restored and modernized Mexico City's downtown area.

In 2006, Obrador decided to run for President of Mexico as the PRD's candidate. Obrador was an early leader in the polls, but his standing was damaged by a PRI-instigated scandal in which businessman Carlos Ahumada gave a bribe of $45,000 Obrador's private secretary Rene Bejarano while being filmed. This incident made the news when television host Victor Trujillo aired it on his television show, and Obrador's support went down seven points. Ultimately, he placed second, losing to National Action Party of Mexico candidate Felipe Calderon.

The populist Obrador would run again in 2012, finishing second with 31.59% of the vote. Obrador resigned from the PRD that same year, founding the left-wing MORENA party. He supported increases of financial aid for the poor and elderly, stimulation of the country's agricultural sector, delay of NAFTA renegotiations, and decentralization of the executive cabinet.